People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an animal rights organization which keeps demonstrating its protest against the treatment meted out to animals. It is good that someone has decided to stand for the animals who have to suffer at the hands of us (humans).

Though they are doing good work at making people realize that animals also need to being taken care of and look after. The way they make their protest sometimes amuses me. There were so many instance when I had seen pictures in newspapers of PETA activists going nude while they protest against the unethical treatment to animals. I can understand their protest, but fail to understand them going nude in more than one instance.

Why does anyone has to go nude when they are protesting? Do they think people wont take notice of such protest unless they show some skin. I appreciate the work that they are doing, but the nudity that comes along turns me off. Come on, you guys are dealing with such a delicate issue, how can one let things go this way, as if they are part of promoting a product through commercial gimmicks.

There are ways where one can really make people take notice of the highlighted issues. I believe the best example would be Mahatma Gandhi who happened to toppled the British rule with non-violence and his stayagraha movement. I guess the PETA should learn from this man on how to make people aware of the issues. Showing skin would only attract people who are merely interested in seeing it. This would do no good to the cause. Its time that they get their act together or else people who are really interested in the cause would get disillusioned with it.

Peta's Nudity

PETA receives a lot of criticism for their nude or nearly nude campaigns. They explain that they do nude campaigns because they are effective. Here's their rationale:

Our mission is to get the animal rights message to as many people as possible. Unfortunately, this is not always an easy task. Unlike our opposition, which is mostly composed of wealthy industries and corporations, PETA must rely on getting free "advertising" through media coverage. This can be especially difficult with our fur campaign, since newspapers are often reluctant to cover our activities for fear of losing furriers' advertising dollars. But, not surprisingly, colorful and "controversial" demonstrations and campaigns like activists stripping to "go naked instead of wearing fur" consistently grab headlines.

The "Naked" Campaign began several years ago when demonstrators - both male and female - marched behind a huge banner proclaiming that they would "rather go naked than wear fur." More "naked" demonstrations were held all over the world, the idea caught on, and we started receiving offers from celebrities, including Christy Turlington, Marcus Schenkenberg, Kim Basinger, Cindy Crawford, designer Todd Oldham, and Pamela Anderson to participate. Interestingly, we began receiving complaints about this campaign only after professional models and actors joined it, which we conclude to mean, among other things, that celebrity participation helps us reach more people.

The campaign has been hugely successful. It has been featured in nearly every major newspaper, including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post. And major magazines and television shows such as Us, People, and Entertainment Tonight have been inspired by the campaign to do stories about the anti-fur movement.

History does not look back unkindly on Lady Godiva. It is our hope that people will come to see that our modern-day "Godivas" have motives that are just as honorable.

Kim Kardashian's Wedding Guestlist

The Wedding of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries took place on 20th August 2011 in Montecito California, in front of 450+ party of family and friends. There were many guests invited, such as

Lala Vasquez

Ryan Seacrest

Julianne Hough

Serena Williams

Demi Lovato

Ciara

Mario Lopez

Eva Longoria

Vera Wang

Ellen DeGeneres (Last Minute!!)

Justin Bieber (Who declined to be with girlfriend Selena Gomez)

Lindsey Lohan

George Lopez

Eduardo Cruz

Will and Jada Smith

Jennifer Lopez

And many more!!

Lots of Love

xoxo

First Look at Kim K's Wedding

The Guests and Preparation.

 Demi Lovato driving away from the Wedding Party that Evening.

Kourtney and Kim, the bride in comfortable clothing before the ceremony.

Ciara was also a guest at the wedding, being a good friend of Kim and her sisters.

Ryan Seacrest and his lovely girlfriend Julianne Hough on the way to the wedding.

Black and white decoration and the wedding cake.

Mother of the Bride, Kris Jenner, in a Vera Wang gown with an oversized bow.

Mel B and her husband Stephen Belafonte.

Step Brother, Brody Jenner, and his girlfriend Avril Lavigne attended the wedding.

Mario Lopez and his girlfriend Courtney Mazza attend.

Lindsey Lohan and her mom Dina attend the wedding.

(Lindsey is wearing a dress similar to a green dress seen on Pippa Middleton!)

Mason Disick nearly stole the show from his Aunt Kim in this adorable cream coloured suit.

The Groom, Kris Humphries, preparing for the biggest day of his life!

Mother, Kris Jenner, and half-sisters of the Bride, Kylie and Kendall Jenner,  look stunning in white!

Kim at the alter looking at the man she's marrying (at the time). Her make-up is gorgeous.

Kourtney and Khloe look on at their gorgeous sister getting the wedding she's wanted for a long time!

Kim walking down the aisle with her stepfather Bruce Jenner.

The very long aisle that Kim walked down to the man of her dreams.

Kim's make-up preparation.

A cocktail bar all prepared and ready for guests in the courtyard.

Lots of Love

xoxo

Shopping Haul

Dunnes Stores

Pink zip-up hoody, €16

Pink dress/long top, €12

100 tealights, €5

The Crescent Shopping Centre, Limerick


Boots

Natural Collection Loose Powder in Neutral Translucent, €2.99

Maybelline Mineral Liquid Foundation in Ivory, €10.59

McCabe's Pharmacy

Essence XXXXL Shine Lipgloss in Timeless Beauty, €2.29

Catrice Cosmetics Nail Laquer in Am I Blue or Green (540), €2.99

Catrice Cosmetics Lashes to Kill Eye-Opening Effect Mascara, €4.49

"The Health Argument" for veganism

As a reminder...

Cultivate Research undertook a large, multi-phase research study including nine focus groups and a survey with 3,200 U.S. adults to investigate these segments and the motivations that affect their decisions to mitigate or halt their meat consumption. [...]



The research conducted during the course of this study clearly shows that increased health consciousness is one of the single most influential factors affecting the dietary choices and habits of the U.S. adult in today’s society. Cultivate Research has identified that a key reason for the growing importance of health is the aging of the U.S. population; and older consumers are more likely to be reducing meat as a component of moving toward a healthier diet. As the “baby boomer” population continues to age and these consumers become increasingly concerned about their personal health, we expect the population dynamics to shift even further in favor of meat reduction for the perceived health benefits. [...]



Cultivate Research conducted in-depth quantitative (the first phase phone survey) and qualitative (second phase focus groups) research to obtain a well-rounded understanding of the trends and motivations of consumers who limit their meat consumption. This project represents one of the most comprehensive research studies ever conducted about the attitudes and behaviors of U.S. adult consumers toward meat reduction and the consumption of meat and dairy alternative products.

Source: http://cultivateresearch.com/vol_1_VCT_Series_Overview.pdf



This, once again confirms, that "the health argument" for veganism is most appealing to older people whereas other arguments may be more appropriate for younger people.



Of course, it should be noted that the argument alone is not sufficient for veganism, as explained by Vegan Outreach and Ginny Messina. The health benefits traditionally associated with veganism can often be obtained through the consumption of small amounts of lowfat animal products and large amounts of whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables (a "flexitarian" diet). Likewise, small amounts of veggies meats are also an acceptable part of a healthy diet.



But what is important to note from the research cited above is this: Grocery stores, restaurants and other food-sellers selling vegan foods can probably profit most by emphasising the health benefits of the vegan foods.

Notes from AR 2011

Here are some of our notes from the 2011 AR conference: http://www.vegansoapbox.com/topics/ar2011/.



Of particular interest to the readers of this blog are these posts:

Winning Hearts And Minds

Effective Speaking

Advertising Our Message

Printing Our Message

Writing The Animal Rights Message